Copier Lease vs Managed Print Cost: Which Saves You More?
You need a copier for your office. You have two main options: lease a copier yourself or pay for a managed print service that handles everything. Both have monthly costs. Both include equipment. But the total cost difference between them can be 20-50% depending on your setup.
Here is a direct comparison so you can figure out which one actually makes sense for your business.
What You Pay With a Standard Copier Lease
A copier lease is straightforward. You rent the machine for a set term (usually 36, 48, or 60 months) and pay a fixed monthly amount. Service and supplies are sometimes included, sometimes separate.
Here is what a typical copier lease costs for a mid-volume office (5,000 to 15,000 pages per month):
- Equipment lease: $150 to $400/month
- Service and maintenance plan: $50 to $150/month (if not bundled)
- Toner and supplies: $30 to $100/month (if not bundled)
- Overage charges: $0.01 to $0.03 per page over your base
Total monthly cost for a standard lease with separate service: roughly $230 to $650.
If you bundle service and supplies into a cost-per-page plan, the total is usually lower. You pay one flat rate per page and everything is covered. Most bundled leases for this volume range land between $200 and $500 per month all-in.
What You Pay With Managed Print Services
Managed print services (MPS) take a wider approach. Instead of just leasing you a copier, an MPS provider manages your entire print setup. That includes copiers, desktop printers, supplies, service, and often software for tracking usage.
MPS pricing is almost always based on cost per page. You pay a flat rate for every page printed across all devices in your office. The provider owns or leases the equipment, keeps it running, and ships toner before you run out.
Typical MPS cost-per-page rates:
- Black-and-white: $0.01 to $0.03 per page
- Color: $0.07 to $0.15 per page
For an office printing 10,000 pages per month (80% black-and-white, 20% color), the math looks like this:
- 8,000 B&W pages x $0.015 = $120
- 2,000 color pages x $0.09 = $180
- Total: $300/month
That covers the equipment, service, toner, parts, and usually a software dashboard to monitor usage.
Where Managed Print Wins
MPS makes the most sense when you have multiple devices across your office. If you are running 3 copiers and 10 desktop printers, managing all of those separately is a headache. Different vendors, different supply orders, different service contracts.
An MPS provider puts everything under one contract. One invoice. One phone number for service. One company keeping track of toner levels and machine health.
MPS also tends to save money for offices that print a lot of color. Color toner is expensive when bought separately, and MPS providers buy it in bulk, passing some of that savings on to you.
Another win: MPS providers often run a print audit first and find that businesses have more printers than they need. Consolidating from 15 devices down to 8 can save 20-30% on total print costs before you even look at per-page rates.
Where a Standard Copier Lease Wins
If you only need one or two copiers and your print volume is predictable, a standard lease is usually simpler and cheaper. You are not paying for the management layer that MPS adds.
Leases also give you more control. You pick the machine. You pick the dealer. You can switch vendors at the end of your term without untangling a company-wide print management contract.
For small offices doing under 5,000 pages per month, a basic copier lease with bundled service often costs $150 to $250 per month. An MPS provider may not even take you on at that volume, or if they do, the per-page rate will be on the higher end because you are not giving them enough volume to hit their margins.
Want to see what a lease costs for your specific volume? Check our breakdown of copier lease monthly costs.
What Most Guides Miss
The biggest thing people overlook when comparing these two options is contract flexibility.
MPS contracts are harder to exit. Because the provider is managing your entire print fleet, leaving mid-contract means replacing multiple devices at once. Early termination fees on MPS deals can run $5,000 to $15,000+ depending on how many machines are involved.
Lease buyout math is different. With a standard lease, your early termination cost is usually the remaining payments on one machine. With MPS, it is the remaining value across every device in the agreement. That is a much bigger number.
Per-page rates can creep up. Some MPS contracts include annual rate increases of 3-5% built into the fine print. Over a 5-year term, that turns a $0.015 per page rate into $0.018 or more. Ask for a rate lock or at least a cap on annual increases.
For more on what early exit really costs, read our guide on copier lease early termination fees.
How to Decide
Here is a simple way to figure out which option fits your office:
- 1-2 copiers, under 10,000 pages/month: Go with a standard copier lease with bundled service. It is simpler and usually cheaper.
- 3+ devices, over 15,000 pages/month: Get MPS quotes. The management savings and volume discounts will likely outweigh the standard lease approach.
- In between: Get quotes for both. Compare the all-in monthly cost and pay close attention to contract terms, especially early termination and rate increases.
Ready to Compare Copier Lease Quotes?
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